Waiting is so hard
by abador2013
Summary: When Winry is left waiting for Ed to return, has he been gone too long?


Waiting is so hard...

**Author's note: This takes place about a two years after Ed leaves for the West**

He said he would be home soon...He said two years at the most...How much longer can I wait?

These are the thoughts that haunt Winry Rockbell of Resembol. Before her lifelong friend, Edward Elric, left for his journey he finally proposed. Winry was so happy that she felt that she could wait a life time if that's what it took. But with each passing day, Winry could feel the claws of depression and doubt start to make their way up into every thought. But she wouldn't let her demons get the better of her! She clung to the promise she and Ed had made at the train station almost two years ago. To keep herself occupied she would work with her beloved auto-mail and kept improving her skills. She would make secret wedding plans and talk to Granny Pinako about where and when. But most the time Winry would shut herself away in her room and work into the early light of the morning.

She kept this up for two years until finally she was sure that Ed had found someone better.

Did she find someone new? Am I too late? Dammit she's gonna kill me!

Edward Elric was on his final train back home when he kept having the same buzzing thoughts in his head. 'Had Winry given up on me?' He didn't know if she would wait for him and even if she had, would she still love him enough to marry him? Of all the thoughts he had had of Winry when they were growing up, marrying her was the last one he thought of. But now that he was coming home he knew he was certain of Winry. He didn't think he could love someone so much and yet get so frustrated at the same time. Even when he was away on his journey to the West, all Ed could think about was 'Why am I going to marry someone who, at the same time, might try to kill me with a wrench!?' But he already knew the answer to that and every other question of doubt he had had. And the simple answer he came up with was this: because even when I almost gave up on myself, she never did.

As Ed was contemplating the last few years in his head the train came to a stop. Edward Elric was finally home.

Winry was asleep at her desk...again. It was about 3:30 am and she had been working on a new leg for one of her customers when she had dozed off. The blue prints were stuck to her bare arm and her wrench was still in hand. She didn't even wake up at the sound of her door creaking open.

Edward walked into the house using the spare key under the door mat. He quietly made his home and looked around.

"Same as always" he said to himself.

The house had the smell of home cooked meals, oil and old wood. It smelled as a home should, Ed thought to himself. He walked into the kitchen and put down his luggage. He really was quite tired from the train ride and he knew exactly where his bed was waiting for him. So he quietly made his way up the creaky old stair into the hall. But before he went to his room, he noticed that Winry's work lamp was still on.

"That's odd...why is she still awake?"

Excited but nervous, Ed made his way into Winry's room to see if she was awake. To his utter disappointment, she wasn't. But instead he saw a beautiful blonde asleep and almost peaceful looking. Winry always had a look about her that made her look nervous or concerned but in sleep...she looked relaxed and young. But there was no way she was comfortable sleeping upright in a chair holding a wrench Ed thought to himself.

With a sigh Ed slowly made his way to her as not to disturb her slumber. He laced his arm around her back and under her arm. He crouched low and laced his other arm under her knees. Very carefully so as not to jostle her, he made his way to her bed so he could lay her down. As he was laying her down and started making his way to bed, he heard his name.

"Ed...ward?"

Winry felt like she was floating. One moment she was sleeping uncomfortably at her wooded desk and the next, a warmth that seemed to cradle her and give her a sense of protection she hadn't felt in awhile was surrounding her. She opened her eyes once the sensation of being on a cloud evaporated and she knew she had been moved into her bed. From the slit in her eyes she could just make out the blurry lining of a man with a golden braid down his neck. She knew it was too good to be true. Edward couldn't be home. But still... his smell lingered on her clothes and she dared to call his name...

"Ed...ward?" she said in a whisper quiet voice.

The man stopped and slowly turned around.


End file.
